Be Punctual
Since you know you meet at a particular
time, schedule your activity/work accordingly.
It is very distracting for the speaker of the day to find members
tricking in every now and then.
Take your seat
As Soon as the meeting is called to order,
take your seat. If you are halfway
through your coffee, you can sacrifice it.
Don't walk-out
It is bad manners to walk-out while the
Chief Guest is speaking. If you have
something important to attend to sit in the last chair of the back row, closer
to the door, so that your exit is inconspicuous.
Avoid whispered/loud comments
Even if you don't agree with what the
speaker says, avoid making comments. You can reserve them for the
question/answer session.
Be a Listener
The biggest insult to a speaker is to find
a tittering audience. Once you have invited a speaker, however good or bad,
he/she is, you have to be a silent listener.
Question politely
Speakers invite question. But don't challenge. Be polite and ask for clarification, if you
have a doubt. If you don't find the
answer satisfactory don't start a discussion.
It will bore others. Wait for the
meeting to be over and then meet the speaker alone. If he is in a hurry, take his phone number
and meet him again.
Calling the meeting to order
The president calls the meeting to order. The voice must be firm, loud, clear and
pleasant. The president's communication
should be short and crisp. He should
confine himself to communicating policy decisions which he should have read and
understood earlier.
Introduction of the speaker
This is an important function and should be
handled by someone whose language is fluent, pronunciation right and accent
good. The introduction should be done
with some warmth. Reading out a long
Bio-data in a deadpan voice, sounds like an obituary. A long list of the 'speakers' academic
qualification and all the jobs he has done is unnecessary. Pick-out the highlights of his career and a
few personal glimpses. A touch of humour
will help.
Welcome address
This should be brief and include the chief
Guest, visiting members/ dignitaries and the congregation. If Press is present,
special mention can be made.
Vote of Thanks
Mention must be made of all those who have
helped, specifying how. Since it is at
the tail end of the function, with everyone impatient to leave avoid anecdotes
or personal comments. A gracious thank you is sufficient.
Projects
Enlist yourself as a member of a
sub-committee only if you believe in its activities. Go for an activity you can relate with and
spare time for. Once in it keep to it. Remember your responsibility doesn't cease
with paying subscription fee. Your time
and personal involvement is important
Attendance
Try and be present for meetings. The purpose of being member of a professional
body is to interact.
Fellowship
This is often related to eating and
drinking and making merry with one's own circle of friends. The essence of Fellowship is meeting new set
of members at every meeting so that you know each other well. There are invariably some shy members. Draw them out and introduce them to others.
Visiting Members
Make them feel welcome. Set up a table at the entrance at every
meeting with a'Welcome to visiting members...’
Let some members of the fellowship committee be in attendance so that
visitor feels at home. After all, he
will carry your goodwill back to his club.
New Members
The type of members who are inducted should
be carefully scrutinised Quality and not quantity must be the guiding principle. Essentially, the yardstick should be.
a. How professional is the member
b. How much time can he/she devote?
The role of proposed
Once a member has been inducted, the
proposer's interest cools off. This
should not be so. He should, at least
for a year, take personal interest in helping the member 'integregate' into the
clubs' culture, ensure he attends programmes, projects and contributes in a
positive way to the club.
Sub-Committees
For a professional body to function
effectively, there should be delegation and decentralisation. But this should
be done judiciously; only those with an aptitude for that activity should be
nominated. The committees should be
small and meet often to plan, execute and review a project. Preferably, these should be business meetings. Combining it with a fellowship dinner can rob
it of the seriousness required.
Circles & Groups
A professional body is not a political
arena. Here, everyone has a common
goal-service to the profession. Factions,
lobbies and circles only break up the homogeneity of the club. Personal biases should be set aside and
whoever is the President, everyone must co-operate and work as a team.
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